Excrement receptacle device for animals

ABSTRACT

An animal excrement receptacle device with a disposable portion. A flexible resilient conduit tube is adapted to be held at the anal region, and below the tail, of an animal, a flexible bag or collector being attached to and extending rearwardly from the bag, the front of the tube supporting a combination pad and closure member which is attached to the front of the bag. The pad is of soft deformable material and is provided with a drawstring for compactly contracting it and bringing it and the attached portion of the bag into a closure position within the tube. The tube itself is detachably secured to a harness, the tube together with the bag being disposable. The upper and side portions of the conduit tube are adapted to flex with the movement of the animal&#39;&#39;s tail and body; but when the tail is raised in the act of defecation, the resilient tube assumes its full undistorted shape, thereby providing a passageway of maximum proportions for the feces.

Missud States Patent [54] EXCREMENT RECEPTACLE DEVICE FOR ANIMALS [72]Inventor: Louis Missud, 61-15 43rd Avenue, Woodside, N.Y. 11377 [22]Filed: Mar. 30, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 23,798

[52] U.S. Cl ..119/95 [51] Int. Cl. ..A0lk 23/00 [58] Field of Search..119/95, 109; 128/295 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS2,585,251 2/1952 Kahlert ..119/95 718,915 1/1903 Cooper... ....1 19/952,173,356 9/1939 Cross ..119/95 Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. MedberyAnarneyPosnack, Roberts & Cohen [57] ABSTRACT An animal excrementreceptacle device with a disposable portion. A flexible resilientconduit tube is adapted to be held at the anal region, and below thetail, of an animal, a flexible bag or collector being attached to andextending rearwardly from the bag, the front of the tube supporting acombination pad and closure member which is attached to the front of thebag. The pad is of soft defonnable material and is provided with adrawstring for compactly contracting it and, bringing it and theattached portion of the bag into a closure position within the tube. Thetube itself is detachably secured to a harness, the tube together withthe bag being disposable. The upper and side portions of the conduittube are adapted to flex with the movement of the animals tail and body;but when the tail is raised in the act of defecation, the resilient tubeassumes its full undistorted shape, thereby providing a passageway ofmaximum proportions for the feces.

12 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAPR 18 m2 SHEET 1 [IF 3 FIG. I

IN V/ZN UR.

LOU/S M/SSUD mq mhzrw BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. The Field of theInvention This invention relates to disposable excrement receptacledevices for animals, and is particularly directed to a device of thiscategory adapted for removable attachment to a harness member embracingthe body of a dog, cat or horse.

2. The Known Art The known devices of this class for receiving the fecesof animals, while capable of serving their intended function ofcollecting the excrement, are generally cumbersome and uncomfortable,and interfere with the bodily movements of the animal particularly withthe natural movement of the tail. Moreover, many of these devices arenot sanitary and are odoriforous both while attached to the animal andafter removal.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The main objective of this invention is toprovide a practical device of this category having none of theshortcomings above mentioned. More specifically, among the objects arethe provision of an excrement collecting device for animals (a) having adisposable receptacle member readily attachable to and removable fromthe body of the animal; (b) positionable against against the anal regionof the animal for directly receiving the feces; (c) having a resilientflexible excrement conduit tube adapted for positioning adjacent thebody and below the animals tail, said tube being normally in a fullyopen position so as to provide a passageway of maximum proportions whenthe tail of the animal is in its naturally raised position during theact of defecation, but being yieldable and partially collapsible withthe lowering or side movement of the tail and the twisting, wiggling andbending movements of the body; (d) having a flexible containerpositioned in non-interfering relation to the animal; (e) provided withpadding means engageable with the rear of the animal; (f) having closuremeans at the rear of said conduit tube manipulable into an operativeclosing position; and (g) including a harness member for operativelysupporting the disposable portion of the device.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings andthe description hereinafter given.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the illustrated embodiment of this inventionthere is a permanent harness member and removably attached thereto adisposable receptacle member. The harness member yieldably embraces thebody portion of the animal and has a rear portion below the animal talladjustably supporting a hinge-latch element. The disposable member has ashort conduit tube with thin, resilient top and side walls, the base ofsaid tube being relatively thick and being provided with a latch elementreleasably engageable with said first-mentioned latch element, said tubehaving at the foremost portion thereof a peripheral flange of concavecross-section supporting a ring-like pad of soft, deformable materialfor yieldable engagement with the animals body portion about the analregion. A flexible bag or container is attached to and extendsrearwardly from said tube. The said pad, which is attached to theforward periphery of the bag, has a drawstring extending therethroughand exteriorly for manual grasping, whereby upon a rearward operativepull of the string the said deformable pad will be contracted into acompact mass and drawn, together with the foremost portion of the bag,into said tube, the pad now serving as a closure member to seal the bag.The assembly of tube, bag and pad,being separable from the harnessmember, is readily disposable, the harness member being adapted toreceive a new disposable receptacle member.

The portion of the tube above the base, being thin and flexible, willflex with the movement of the animals tail and body, but when not flexedsuch as when the animals tail is raised during the act of defecationwill assume its full undistorted shape, whereby a passageway of maximumproportions for the movement of the feces is provided.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of theexcrement receptacle device according to an embodiment of this inventionshown operatively applied to a dog. a

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the disposable receptaclemember (a fragment of the bag being removed), the lower rear portion ofthe harness and the interconnecting hinge-latch element. FIG. 3 is afragmentary rear elevational view of the assembled device, the conduittube being shown in its uncollapsed fully open position.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front view of the receptacle member of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section of FIG. 4 taken along line5-5.

FIG. 5A is a fragmentary enlarged view of the upper portion of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a view substantially like FIG. 5 but showing the deformablepad and attached portion of the bag drawn into the conduit tube in aclosure position, the dot-dash lines indicating the position of the padbefore being drawn inwardly.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the device with the pad in its closureposition as indicated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the disposable receptacle member in thecondition shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and after being separated from theharness.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the conduit tube of this invention inits fully open position.

FIG. 10 is a vertical section of FIG. 9 taken along line I0 10.

FIG. 11 is a horizontal section of FIG. 9 taken along line 1l11.

FIG. 12 is a rear view of the conduit tube of FIG. 9 shown in its fullyopen position.

FIG. 13 is a view of the tube of FIG. 12 shown in a downwardly flexedposition under the action of the animals tail shown in dot-dash lines.

FIG. 14 is a view of the tube of FIG. 12 shown in a laterally flexedposition under the action of the tail shown in dot-dash lines.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the preferred embodimentillustrated in the drawings, there are two main members, the permanentsaddle member generally designated 15, and the disposable receptaclemember generally designated 16.

The said saddle member, adapted for placement upon the body of ananimal, such as the dog shown in FIG. 1, and serving as a holding memberfor the disposable member, comprises the laterally opposite resilientan'ns 17 and 18 adapted to yieldably and snugly embrace the body of theanimal, the laterally separated intermediate branches 19 and 20 definingtherebetween an aperture 21 proportioned and positioned to permit thetail of the animal to extend rearwardly therethrough and the rearanchoring portion 22 for operatively supporting the said disposablemember 16. The said anchoring portion 22 has thereon the bracket 23 withlaterally opposite wall sections 24 and 25 spaced rearwardly from thebottom wall 26 of said anchoring portion 22 to provide a socket forslidably receiving the hinge-latch element 27 which is adapted fordetachable supporting connection with a portion of the said receptaclemember 16, as will more clearly hereinafter appear.

The said hinge-latch element 27 is, in the particular form illustrated,a substantially flat piece with a base 28 adapted to be slidablypositioned within the socket formed by the said wall sections 24 and 25,that is, within the spaces 29 and 30 between said respective wallsections 24, 25 and the said wall 26. The said base 28 supports a screwfastener 31 adapted for threaded engagement with any selected one of thethreaded holes 32 in said wall 26, whereby said hinge-latch element 27may be adjustably positioned with respect to the position of the analregion of the animal supporting this device. The upper portion 33 ofsaid latch-element 27 has two upwardly extending spaced walls 34 and 35,forming a passageway 36 therebetween and open at the top, said walls 34and 35 being preferably of resilient material and proportioned foryieldable engagement with the latch-element 37 extending downwardly fromthe conduit tube 38 to be later described.

In the illustrated embodiment, the said passageway 36 contains anenlarged portion 39 at the base thereof, adapted for yieldable lockingengagement with the enlarged portion 40 at the base of saidlatch-element 37 of the conduit tube 38. The arrangement is hence suchthat the said upper portion 33 of the latch-element 27 is of bifurcatedconstruction and is detachably connected to the said latch element 37 ofthe disposable receptacle member 16. It is further to be noted that thebottom portion 21a of the apertured portion 21 of the barness extendsbelow the anal region of the animal, whereby the said disposablereceptacle member 16 may be operatively positioned between the tail ofthe animal and the said anchoring portion 22 of the harness member 15.

The said disposable receptacle member 16 includes the said conduit tube38 preferably made of resilient material, the base 41 of said tube beingof substantial thickness, the portion of the tube thereabove comprisinglaterally opposite said wall portions 42 and 43 and the top portion 44made of relatively thin, flexible resilient material whereby such upperportion may be deformed by downward or lateral pressure, as illustratedin FIGS. 13 and 14. Normally, when in its undistorted position, the saidtube 38 presents a passageway 45 of maximum transverse proportions, asillustrated in FIGS. 2, 9 and 12: but when the tube is operatively bentby the action of the tail or body ofthe animal and the thin wallportions ofthe tube flexed, the said passageway will be distorted asshown in FIGS. 13 and 14 all in a manner to be hereinbelow more fullydescribed.

The said conduit tube 38 contains at the forward portion thereof theperipheral flange 46 of transverse concave crosssection, the concavesurface being disposed forwardly. There are a plurality of slits 47extending inwardly from the outer periphery of the flange to permit anoperative yielding of said flange when the conduit tube is distorted,the flange sections defined by said slits being separable upon suchdistortion, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. The upper flanged portion ofsaid conduit tube 38 is relatively flat, forming a section 48 positionedbelow the tail of the animal, whereby the tube 38 and the pad 50 (to belater described) are in non-interfering relation with the tail of theanimal. The said latch element 37 extends downwardly from said thickenedbase 41 of the tube, thereby providing a firm connection for said latchelement 37 and the coactive latch element 27. It will be noted that therounded thickened portion 40 ofthe latch element 37 and the enlargedrounded portion 39 of the passageway 36 of the coacting latch element 27are parallel, thereby providing a hinged connection, the latch element27 thus serving its function as a hinge-latch.

The said disposable receptacle member 16 also includes, as a fecescollector, the flexible bag or container 49 extending rearwardly fromwithin the said conduit tube 38, the foremost peripheral portion 49a ofsaid bag overlapping a part of the said peripheral flange 46 (FIG. Thesaid bag 49 is adhesively secured at 4912 to the inner portion of thetube 38. Mounted upon said peripheral flange 46 is the ring-like pad 50made of soft deformable material and being firmly adhesively secured tothe said peripheral portion 49a of said bag 49, and also temporarilyattached, by a few glue spots 50a, to the said peripheral flange 46.Extending through the body of the pad 50 is the passageway 51 throughwhich extends the drawstring 52, the outer loop 52a thereof extendingoutwardly and being adapted for manual manipulation. In the embodimentillustrated, the said pad 50 contains at an inner portion thereof thetwo adjacent apertures 53 communicating with said passageway 51, thesaid drawstring 52 extending outwardly from said apertured portions 53and rearwardly and outwardly through the raised channel 54 at the top ofsaid conduit tube 38. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 5, and 7, said loopextends rearwardly into an exterior position where it is adapted formanual grasping.

FIG. 1 illustrates the operative parts of the device of this inventionapplied to an animal. It will be seen that the said soft pad 50 is inengagement with the rear of the animal at the portion surrounding theanal region, whereby irritating engagement of the device with the bodyof the animal is obviated. The bag 49 gravitationally extendsdownwardly.

Due to the fact that the side and upper wall portions 42, 43 and 44 ofthe conduit tube 38 are of thin resilient material, there is practicallyno impediment to the downward or lateral movements of the tail or to thebody movements of the rear portion of the animal. FIG. 13 illustratesthe downward compressibility ofthe tube upon the lowered position of thetail T; and FIG. 14 illustrates a laterally shifted position of the tubeby the action of the tail T as it moves to a laterally lowered position.The pad 50, made, as aforesaid, of soft deformable material, will alsoyield with the above-mentioned movements of the tail and body. Hence,there is practically no resistance to the natural movements of the tailand body portion of the animal during its ordinary activities. When,however, the tail T is raised in the act of defecation, as shown in FIG.1, the conduit tube 38 and the pad 50 assume their normal positions, thepassageway 45 within the conduit tube being fully open and permittingthe passage of the feces therethrough into the bag 49.

Before removing the said disposable portion 16, the drawstring 52 ispulled rearwardly, separating the pad 50 from its light attachment tothe flange 46 and drawing it into the tube, to the position illustratedin FIGS. 6 and 7. More specifically, a pull of the drawstring in thedirection of arrow A causes the pad 50 to move inwardly and forwardly inthe direction of arrows B (FIG. 6) carrying with it the rearmostperipheral portion 49a of the bag 49. The pull on the drawstringcompactly contracts the pad 50, causing the pad to bunch together toform a rear closure of the bag 49. The bag containing the feces is thusnow fully closed. The device is then detached from the harness portionby separating the interconnected latch elements 27 and 37, whereafterthe entire disposable member 16 is discarded. The harness member 15 isnow ready to receive a new disposable receptacle member 16.

It is thus apparent from the above description that this inventionpresents a relatively simple device that may be readily attached to ananimal such as a dog, without any discomfiture and without preventingthe normal activities of the animal, and yet which will adequately serveits intended feces-collecting purpose. And because of the dual paddingand closure function served by the pad 50, this device constitutes anonodoriferous and sanitary unit.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by wayof example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations andmodifications may be made therein. It is to be understood, therefore,that the invention is not limited to any particular form or manner ofpracticing same.

Iclaim:

1. An excrement receptacle device for an animal comprising: a harnessfor support of the device of an animal, a hollow conduit tube havingforward and rearward portions and constructed of a material whichprovides a normal self-sustaining shape for said tube in which an opentubular passageway is formed in the tube extending from the said forwardto the said rearward portion of the tube, means on said harness forsupporting said conduit tube in a fixed operative position in which thesaid forward portion of the tube is adjacent the anal region of theanimal and entirely below the tail thereof, a flexible container, meansattaching the flexible container to the conduit tube such that theflexible container extends from the said rearward portion of the tubeand is in communication with the interior of the tube, said conduit tubeincluding an upper portion made of flexible resilient material foryieldably collapsing when contacted by the animals tail and resuming itsoriginal normal shape when the animals tail is raised in the act ofdefecating to provide said open passageway in the tube to the container.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube includes a lowerportion having substantially greater rigidity than said upper portion.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising means on the forwardportion of the tube for engaging the the area surrounding the analregion of the anamil when said tube is in said operative position.

4. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 1,said conduit tube having a thickened base portion and a relatively thin,resilient and flexible tubular upper por tion, whereby said upperportion will be adapted for flexing downwardly toward said base andlaterally in opposite directions.

5. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 4,said container being made of flexible material and extending rearwardlyfrom and being supported by said tube and being closed at the rearmostend, and closure means attached to the forward portion of saidcontainer, said closure means being movable between an inoperative to anoperative closure position with respect to said container.

6. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 4,the foremost portion of said tube having a peripheral flange and anannular pad of soft deformable material positioned upon and supported inan exterior position by said flange, said pad being proportioned andpositioned for engaging the area surrounding the anal region of theanimal when said conduit tube is in its said operative position.

7. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 6,said peripheral flange being substantially concave in cross-section,whereby it forms a depressed seat for said annular pad.

8. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 6,said container being made of flexible material and being attached to andextending rearwardly from said tube, said pad being attached to theforward peripheral portion of said container, said pad being movablefrom its position on said flange to a closure position within said tube,means attached to said pad for operatively moving it from said positionon said flange to its said closure position, said pad being deformableinto a closure position proportioned for fitting 6 within said tube.

9. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 8,said means attached to said pad comprising a drawstring within the bodythereof and extending rearwardly therefrom through said tube andoutwardly therefrom for manual grasping, whereby a rearward operativepull on said string will operatively move said pad into said tube andcontract it into said closure position.

10. An excrement receptacle device for an animal, comprising a conduittube, holding means for supporting the forward portion of said tube inan operative position in adjacent relation to the anal region of theanimal and below the tail thereof, a container attached to said tube andin communication with the interior thereof, a combination deformable padand tube closure member of ring-like configuration positioned at thefront of said tube along an outer peripheral portion thereof, saidcontainer being made of flexible material and being attached to andextending rearwardly from said tube, said pad being attached to theforward peripheral portion of said container, said member being movablefrom said outer portion to an inner portion of the tube, means attachedto said member and extending outwardly from said tube for operativelymoving said member from the said outer peripheral portion to said innerportion of the tube, said member being deformable into a contractedclosure position when operatively within said tube.

11. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 10,the foremost ortion of said tube having a peripheral flange, saidcombina lon member being positioned upon and supported by said flange,said means attached to said combination member comprising a drawstringextending through the body of said member and rearwardly along theinterior of said tube and having an outwardly extending portion formanual grasping, whereby a rearward operative pull on said string willcontract said member and move it to its said inner closure position.

12. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 11,said flexible container being attached to the inner wall of said tubeand having the foremost peripheral portion thereof overlapping a portionof said peripheral flange and in underlying engagement with and securedto said ringlike combination member, whereby both said member and theattached peripheral portion of said container will together be drawninto said tube upon an operative pull of said drawstring.

1. An excrement receptacle device for an animal comprising: a harnessfor support of the device on an animal, a hollow conduit tube havingforward and rearward portions and constructed of a material whichprovides a normal self-sustaining shape for said tube in which an opentubular passageway is formed in the tube extending from the said forwardto the said rearward portion of the tube, means on said harness forsupporting said conduit tube in a fixed operative position in which thesaid forward portion of the tube is adjacent the anal region of theanimal and entirely below the tail thereof, a flexible container, meansattaching the flexible container to the conduit tube such that theflexible container extends from the said rearward portion of the tubeand is in communication with the interior of the tube, said conduit tubeincluding an upper portion made of flexible resilient material foryieldably collapsing when contacted by the animal''s tail and resumingits original normal shape when the animal''s tail is raised in the actof defecating to provide said open passageway in the tube to thecontainer.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube includesa lower portion having substantially greater rigidity than said upperportion.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising means on theforward portion of the tube for engaging the the area surrounding theanal region of the animal when said tube is in said operative position.4. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 1,said conduit tube having a thickened base portion and a relatively thin,resilient and flexible tubular upper portion, whereby said upper portionwill be adapted for flexing downwardly toward said base and laterally inopposite directions.
 5. An excrement receptacle device for an animalaccording to claim 4, said container being made of flexible material andextending rearwardly from and being supported by said tube and beingclosed at the rearmost end, and closure means attached to the forwardportion of said container, said closure means being movable between aninoperative to an operative closure position with respect to saidcontainer.
 6. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according toclaim 4, the foremost portion of said tube having a peripheral flangeand an annular pad of soft deformable material positioned upon andsupported in an exterior position by said flange, said pad beingproportioned and positioned for engaging the area surrounding the analregion of the animal when said conduit tube is in its said operativeposition.
 7. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according toclaim 6, said peripheral flange being substantially concave incross-section, whereby it forms a depressed seat for said annular pad.8. An excrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 6,said container being made of flexible material and being attached to andextending rearwardly from said tube, said pad being attached to theforward peripheral portion of said container, said pad being movablefrom its position on said flange to a closure position within said tube,means attached to said pad for operatively moving it from said positionon said flange to its said closure position, said pad being deformableinto a closUre position proportioned for fitting within said tube.
 9. Anexcrement receptacle device for an animal according to claim 8, saidmeans attached to said pad comprising a drawstring within the bodythereof and extending rearwardly therefrom through said tube andoutwardly therefrom for manual grasping, whereby a rearward operativepull on said string will operatively move said pad into said tube andcontract it into said closure position.
 10. An excrement receptacledevice for an animal, comprising a conduit tube, holding means forsupporting the forward portion of said tube in an operative position inadjacent relation to the anal region of the animal and below the tailthereof, a container attached to said tube and in communication with theinterior thereof, a combination deformable pad and tube closure memberof ring-like configuration positioned at the front of said tube along anouter peripheral portion thereof, said container being made of flexiblematerial and being attached to and extending rearwardly from said tube,said pad being attached to the forward peripheral portion of saidcontainer, said member being movable from said outer portion to an innerportion of the tube, means attached to said member and extendingoutwardly from said tube for operatively moving said member from thesaid outer peripheral portion to said inner portion of the tube, saidmember being deformable into a contracted closure position whenoperatively within said tube.
 11. An excrement receptacle device for ananimal according to claim 10, the foremost portion of said tube having aperipheral flange, said combination member being positioned upon andsupported by said flange, said means attached to said combination membercomprising a drawstring extending through the body of said member andrearwardly along the interior of said tube and having an outwardlyextending portion for manual grasping, whereby a rearward operative pullon said string will contract said member and move it to its said innerclosure position.
 12. An excrement receptacle device for an animalaccording to claim 11, said flexible container being attached to theinner wall of said tube and having the foremost peripheral portionthereof overlapping a portion of said peripheral flange and inunderlying engagement with and secured to said ring-like combinationmember, whereby both said member and the attached peripheral portion ofsaid container will together be drawn into said tube upon an operativepull of said drawstring.